Category: News
Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Thesis: Money Or Commodity?
Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin Thesis: Money Or Commodity?
Authored by Gareth Jenkinson via CoinTelegraph.com,
Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin white paper envisioned a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system,” but Bitcoin’s biggest proponent seems to have an entirely different view of its purpose.
Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor, whose company has been buying Bitcoin aggressively for nearly five years since adopting a Bitcoin (BTC) treasury strategy, presented what many described as plans for a “Bitcoin central bank” during his keynote speech at Bitcoin MENA.
Economist Saifedean Ammous, well-known in Bitcoin circles for penning The Bitcoin Standard, was also a notable figure attending the conference in Abu Dhabi.
Ammous and Saylor are understood to converse regularly, with Saylor having written the foreword of Ammous’ most famous book.
Speaking on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction show, Ammous acknowledged that Saylor does not view Bitcoin as money through the same lens as other Bitcoin proponents.
Source: Gareth Jenkinson
“I don’t think he sees Bitcoin as money. He’s been very clear about that. He sees Bitcoin more as an asset. One of the great metaphors he uses is that Bitcoin is like crude oil in that it is a hard asset,” Ammous said.
“Just like Standard Oil refined crude oil into standard forms of consumer oil like kerosene or gasoline, he sees Strategy’s role as refining crude Bitcoin into different forms of financial assets that allow people access to them.”
Saylor has used various existing corporate finance mechanisms to allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin.
The company’s Class A Common Stock (MSTR) allows investors to buy shares in Strategy, which acts as a leveraged play on the price of Bitcoin, as the company’s primary strategy is to accumulate BTC.
Strategy has also raised billions of dollars through offerings of convertible senior notes, a type of debt that can be converted into equity at a future date, to buy more Bitcoin.
His most recent innovations saw the issuance of several classes of perpetual preferred stock (STRK, STRF, STRD, STRC) to institutional investors.
As of Dec. 15, Strategy had accumulated 671,268 Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is still money
While Saylor has gone on record to unpack his thesis on why Bitcoin is a hard asset that can serve as the basis for various financial products, Saifedean says Strategy’s Bitcoin playbook doesn’t alter Bitcoin’s monetary properties.
“I can see the logic behind it. Ultimately, it’s an academic issue. It doesn’t have much of real-world relevance,” Saifedean said.
“In theory, I think of Bitcoin itself as the money. I think of it as being the asset itself. And I think people just need to hold Bitcoin. And I think in the long run, people are going to hold Bitcoin. Now, as long as the fiat money printer exists, there will be all kinds of fiat games that can and will be played.”
Saifedean said that global monetary supply increases by 7%-15% annually and that the system incentivizes the use of debt.
“There’s an enormous world that is used to getting into financial debt for all kinds of purposes. You’re going to see that increase. As Bitcoin grows, you’re going to be seeing these kinds of financial fiat tools and products being deployed on Bitcoin.”
What does that actually mean? Well, in short, businesses and individuals will need to acquire Bitcoin as pristine capital to access affordable debt.
“Ultimately, all of that has to be built on a foundation of buying Bitcoin. One way or the other, that just means more and more people buy Bitcoin and the size of cash balances in Bitcoin increases. And in my mind, that inevitably means that Bitcoin becomes the money itself.”
Ammous featured on Chain Reaction after Africa Bitcoin Corporation (ABC) announced that the economist would be advising the company.
ABC’s president, Stafford Masie, said Ammous’ primary motivation for advising ABC was the widespread adoption of Bitcoin across retail stores and the unique circular economies in South Africa.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 12/20/2025 – 18:40
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/michael-saylors-bitcoin-thesis-money-or-commodity
Gunboat Diplomacy Accelerated: US Seizes Another Oil Tanker Off Venezuela’s Coast
Gunboat Diplomacy Accelerated: US Seizes Another Oil Tanker Off Venezuela’s Coast
Update:
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem confirmed that the U.S. Coast Guard, with support from the Department of War, has seized another oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela.
“The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil used to fund narco-terrorism in the region. We will find you, and we will stop you,” Noem wrote in a post on X.
In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela.
The United States will continue to pursue the illicit movement of sanctioned oil that is used to fund… pic.twitter.com/nSZ4mi6axc
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) December 20, 2025
Reuters reported earlier about the operation.
* * *
President Trump’s gunboat diplomacy is aimed at disrupting crude oil flows moving from Venezuela to Cuba and onward to China. The foreign-policy campaign began earlier this year with U.S. warships stationed off Venezuela’s coast in international waters, but it accelerated sharply weeks ago with the U.S. seizure of a sanctioned tanker in the Caribbean and has now escalated further with reports that another tanker was intercepted and seized.
Reuters cites three U.S. officials on Saturday morning who said U.S. forces are interdicting and seizing another tanker off the coast of Venezuela in international waters. This could mark the second such seizure in weeks and comes days after Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers in the Venezuela region.
Apparently, U.S. Coast Guard teams are leading this operation amid a broader U.S. military buildup in the region, though officials have not disclosed the exact location of the latest tanker seizure.
Trump’s gunboat diplomacy is aimed at the country’s autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro. This ploy could accelerate regime instability in Caracas and materially weaken Cuba.
“Their theory of change involves cutting off all support to Cuba,” Juan S. Gonzalez, who was President Joe Biden’s top White House aide for Western Hemisphere affairs, recently said. “Under this approach, once Venezuela goes, Cuba will follow.”
On Tuesday, Trump ordered a “total and complete blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela. He further boasted of the country having been “completely surrounded” with the “largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”
He then warned, “It [the blockade] will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
Brent crude markets slipped underneath $60/bbl last week, ending the week at $60.57, as traders appear numb to Trump’s gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean.
We’re surprised Beijing hasn’t lashed out at the U.S. for such actions in the Caribbean, given that this disrupts oil trade flows from West to East. Perhaps a deal was made at the Trump-Xi meeting in the fall.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 12/20/2025 – 18:05
Mbappé iguala el récord de Cristiano Ronaldo de 59 goles en un año para el Real Madrid
Por JOSEPH WILSON
BARCELONA (AP) — Kylian Mbappé anotó su gol número 59 para el Real Madrid en 2025 el sábado, igualando el récord del club de más goles en un año que ostentaba Cristiano Ronaldo.
El hito estuvo a punto de escapársele al delantero francés hasta que convirtió un penal a cuatro minutos del final para completar la victoria 2-0 sobre el Sevilla, que se quedó con diez hombres.
Mbappé igualó la cifra de Cristiano del 2013. Después de abrazar a sus compañeros, celebró el logro con una versión moderada del característico festejo del exjugador del Madrid antes de lanzar un beso a las cámaras de televisión.
El exastro del Paris Saint-Germain, que se unió al Madrid en el verano de 2024, ha anotado 29 veces para el Madrid esta temporada, incluyendo un máximo de liga de 18 goles.
Jude Bellingham marcó con un cabezazo a los 38 minutos y el Sevilla perdió al defensor Marcao por una segunda amonestación por entradas imprudentes a 20 minutos del final. El entrenador del Sevilla, Matías Almeyda, también fue expulsado por el árbitro durante el descanso.
Alonso ha estado bajo presión durante varias semanas debido a una serie de malos resultados y al juego en general poco convincente de su equipo lleno de estrellas. Los medios deportivos españoles están llenos de especulaciones de que el entrenador de primer año podría ser reemplazado.
Ahora, el presidente del club madrileño, Florentino Pérez, tendrá dos semanas para reflexionar sobre el futuro del equipo antes de su próximo partido contra el Real Betis el cuatro de enero.
Alonso no podía permitirse otro desliz en el Santiago Bernabéu después de que su equipo perdiera sus dos partidos anteriores. Pero los aficionados del Madrid aún tenían motivos para quejarse después de que el Sevilla creara repetidamente oportunidades de gol, incluso después de quedarse con diez hombres.
El chileno Alexis Sánchez, aún ágil a sus 37 años, y el lateral derecho Juanlu Sánchez se destacaron más con un Sevilla que encontró huecos en la defensa del Madrid.
El Madrid necesitó a Thibaut Courtois para negar los intentos de Alexis, Isaac Romero y Alfonso González en cuatro ocasiones en la segunda mitad. Pero el Sevilla podría haberse adelantado si hubiera mostrado más precisión en la definición al principio.
El resultado aún estaba en duda hasta que Mbappé convirtió su penal después de que Juanlu cometiera falta sobre Rodrygo en el área.
El Madrid está en segundo lugar a un punto detrás del Barcelona antes de que el líder visite el domingo al Villarreal, que ocupa el tercer lugar.
___
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Nebraska To Become First State To Launch Medicaid Work Requirements
Nebraska To Become First State To Launch Medicaid Work Requirements
Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,
Nebraska plans to become the first state in the nation to implement work requirements for certain Medicaid recipients, with Gov. Jim Pillen and federal health officials announcing an accelerated rollout under provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB).
At a news conference earlier this week, Pillen said the state has formally notified the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of its intent to require Medicaid expansion enrollees to meet work or community engagement standards beginning May 1, 2026—well ahead of the federal compliance deadline.
The event was also attended by Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services CEO Steve Corsi, and remotely by CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Under the new rules, able-bodied adults aged 19 to 64 enrolled through Medicaid expansion will be required to complete at least 80 hours per month of employment, education, job training, community service, or other qualifying activities to maintain coverage, unless they qualify for an exemption.
“These requirements will help Nebraskans achieve greater self-sufficiency through employment and other meaningful activities,” Pillen said.
“Working not only provides purpose but helps people become active, productive members of their communities.”
Pillen added that Nebraska will be ready to move forward with the work requirements well before the federally mandated start date of Jan. 1, 2027.
His office said that work requirements are associated with greater success in finding better-paid work and more stable incomes over time, and that higher employment rates are linked to lower crime rates. Children in working households also tend to have improved educational outcomes and stronger routines.
Federal Law Mandates Medicaid Work Rules
The work requirements stem from the OBBB Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. The bill mandates work or community engagement conditions for most adults covered through Medicaid expansion nationwide. While it directs states to implement the requirements by the end of 2026, states may move sooner, as Nebraska now plans to do.
Oz, who joined the conference by video, praised Nebraska for acting quickly.
“Nebraska is leading the way as the first state to launch its community engagement requirements, and we congratulate Governor Pillen and his team for their commitment to helping more Nebraskans move toward greater independence and opportunity,” he said.
“CMS will be working together with Nebraska and its 50 counterparts to ensure every program is implemented smoothly, responsibly, and in compliance with federal law.”
According to state officials, the policy will apply only to the Medicaid expansion population—low-income adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level—while leaving traditional Medicaid groups unaffected. Children, pregnant women, seniors, and people who are blind or disabled are excluded from the requirement.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services estimates that around 350,000 residents are enrolled in Medicaid, with Pillen saying that some 30,000 Nebraskans will be subject to the new work requirement once it is implemented.
Critics contend that the accelerated timeline could strain Nebraska’s eligibility system and lead to coverage losses among people who qualify for exemptions but struggle with paperwork or verification.
“We have seen in other states that when Medicaid work requirements are implemented too quickly, like what Nebraska is proposing here, thousands of people who are eligible for the program unnecessarily lose coverage and millions of state dollars are wasted on ineffective administrative costs,” Nebraska Appleseed Health Care Access program director Sarah Maresh said in a statement.
“We know a vast majority of Nebraskans subject to these requirements work or meet an exemption to work requirements, but rushing to implement work requirements will cause them to lose coverage anyway.”
The Congressional Budget Office projected in June that 4.8 million able-bodied adults would lose Medicaid coverage by 2034 for failing to meet new work requirements under the OBBB.
Tyler Durden
Sat, 12/20/2025 – 17:30
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/nebraska-become-first-state-launch-medicaid-work-requirements
Geneva curbside leaf collection to resume on Dec. 29 due to melting of snow, city says
Geneva’s curbside leaf collection program will resume again the week of Dec. 29, after a recent thaw melted most of the early winter snow, city officials said.
Earlier this month, the city announced that the collection program was going to be suspended after a snowstorm on Nov. 29 buried leaf piles, with plans to offer a collection in the spring for residents who didn’t get their third pickup.
Now, as most of the recent snow has melted, the city and its contractor for leaf collections are planning to restart operations later this month.
The curbside collection is limited to residents who didn’t receive their third pickup, a news release from the city noted. A map indicating those streets is available on the city’s website: https://www.geneva.il.us/DocumentCenter/View/16674/Remaining-Curbside-Leaf-Collection-Map?bidId=.
The final sweep will not be broken out into zones, according to the news release, so the city indicated that residents should have their leaves raked to the parkway by 7 a.m. on Dec. 29. The curbside program is expected to be finished by Jan. 2, weather permitting.
Geneva residents can also bag any remaining leaves for free the week of Dec. 22, the release noted. Leaves are to be placed in brown yard waste bags and set outside with the garbage on residents’ refuse collection day, which the city noted will be one day later than usual because of the Christmas holiday.
Juventus vence 2-uno a Roma y queda a un punto del top cuatro en la Serie A
Por DANIELLA MATAR
MILÁN (AP) — La Roma perdió la oportunidad de llegar a la cima de la Serie A tras caer el sábado 2-1 ante la Juventus.
Francisco Conceição y Loïs Openda anotaron para la Juventus antes de que Tommaso Baldanzi acercara a sus rivales La Juventus se colocó a un punto de la Roma, que ocupa el cuarto lugar.
El equipo de Gian Piero Gasperini habría igualado al Inter de Milán, líder de la Serie A, con una victoria, ya que los tres equipos por encima de la Roma —y el Bologna— no juegan esta semana debido a que están disputando la Supercopa de Italia en Arabia Saudí.
Paulo Dybala, quien ganó cinco títulos de la Serie A con la Juventus, casi le dio a la Roma un comienzo perfecto, pero su remate fue demasiado débil y directo a los brazos del portero de la bianconeri Michele Di Gregorio.
La Juventus abrió el marcador al final del primer tiempo. Conceição encontró a Kenan Yıldız por la izquierda y este se internó antes de enviar un centro raso que Andrea Cambiaso remató de tacón hacia Conceição, quien disparó al rincón inferior derecho.
El portero de la Roma, Mile Svilar, realizó paradas magníficas y volvió a lucirse al 70 al desviar un cabezazo de Weston McKennie, pero tocó el rebote para que Openda lo enviara a la red vacía.
La Roma volvió al partido cinco minutos después, cuando Wesley hizo una gran jugada para recuperar el balón y lo envió a Lewis Ferguson. Su disparo angulado fue detenido por Di Gregorio, pero Baldanzi aprovechó el rebote.
Yıldız golpeó el poste derecho a los 80 minutos.
Sin ganador
Lazio y Cremonese no aprovecharon sus oportunidades y empataron 0-0.
Lazio, que logró una victoria por 1-0 contra el Parma el fin de semana pasado a pesar de terminar el partido con nueve hombres, casi consiguió otro gol en el último suspiro.
El defensor de Cremonese, Federico Ceccherini, recibió una tarjeta roja directa en el cuarto minuto del tiempo de descuento por derribar a Matteo Cancellieri justo fuera del área cuando el delantero de Lazio se dirigía hacia el gol.
El tiro libre de Danilo Cataldi rozó la parte superior del travesaño.
___
Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes
Volunteers bringing holiday ‘Bliss’ to needy immigrant families
Nearly 30 volunteers packed their cars to the brim with boxes and bags to deliver essential items like food and clothing to more than 100 immigrant families in Chicago and Aurora on Saturday afternoon.
The items were delivered to families as part of a broader initiative coined “Operation Midway Bliss,” started by William McNiff as a way of countering the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown named ‘Midway Blitz.’
“This is how I envision society to be,” McNiff said at the volunteering site at the Right Bee Cider brewery in the city’s Hermosa neighborhood. “When there’s someone (who) needs a hand up, people are there.”
The initiative came about when McNiff learned of the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program, which allows charity gift-givers to shop for individuals in need. It inspired him to think of ways he could give back to the city’s immigrant community.
McNiff spread the word about his idea with his more than 41,000 followers on TikTok and it quickly took off. With help from his friend Taylor Krahl, the pair raised more than $10,000 in less than a week through their GoFundMe page.
Krahl said the items that were placed neatly in the corner of a warehouse before being delivered were not just boxes and bags; they represent the people they’re helping.
“Every box represented a family — every bag represented a family,” Krahl said.
Erin Hogaboom, who assisted in organizing volunteers, said that everyone, including herself, who showed up ready to support the families, was their physical way of saying, “We’re here if you need anything.”
Items were given to the families to meet their specific needs, with 170 children also receiving toys for the holiday season.
To reach those in need, the pair partnered with Organización Hijos de Migrantes, which offers support to immigrant families in Chicago.
As a daughter of immigrant parents, founder Sheila Jara said this partnership was deeply personal for her and seeing people get involved has been inspiring.
“This is something very important to me,” Jara said. “Just being here and seeing it with my own eyes has really motivated me to keep going.”
Volunteer Jonny Bishop said he joined the effort for a similar reason. As a child of a mother who migrated to the United States for a better life, he said he got involved to stay active in the community.
“I recognized that she gave me something I can never pay her back for,” Bishop said. “It’s a full circle moment.”
Accompanied with every box were also two to three handwritten notes of encouragement in Spanish for each family. The effort was organized in collaboration with Doreen Sayegh, who was part of “Whistlemania” groups in September that helped distribute whistle kits to alert people of ICE presence.
Together, about 30 volunteers from her Whistlemania network and Operation Midway Bliss wrote nearly 400 cards.
“To know that all of these families, along with much-needed supplies and gifts for their kids, also get to read the words of another neighbor or community member. . . that feels really special,” Sayegh said.
Though their GoFundMe page is now closed, McNiff said they raised nearly $35,000. He said they also donated money to a Los Angeles-based organization that helps Chicago families. Any extra boxes and bags of essential items will be donated to local organizations, he said.
As for Operation Midway Bliss, McNiff said they are still in the process of figuring out what’s next and whether this will become an annual charity event.
But one thing is for sure: he said he’s learned a valuable lesson in pursuing this idea.
“Never be afraid to speak up,” McNiff said. “Never be afraid to start building a community, no matter how small it is to start. You never know how big it can go.”
Foundation sues financier who walked away from deal to buy Lake Geneva’s Aloha Lodge
No one disputes that the 20,000-square-foot Aloha Lodge in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin — which was listed in 2023 and sold in August 2024 for $21.85 million — had an earlier $37.5 million offer on it from a well-known Chicago-area buyer of high-priced homes.
However, in a recently filed lawsuit in Lake County, the seller of the estate alleges that the $37.5 million offer by financier and former pharmaceutical executive Jack McGinley was a binding offer that tied up the property and caused it to lose its market momentum.
The suit filed by the Harold B. Smith Foundation alleges breach of contract and breach of good faith and fair dealing, and seeks unspecified damages from McGinley. The foundation also alleges in the suit that McGinley, of Lake Forest, has a “practice of breaching sales contracts” and tried “to avoid his contractual obligations and obtain different and more favorable terms than those to which he willingly agreed.”
McGinley’s lawyer, John Ruskusky, said in a written statement that the offer was not binding. Ruskusky also said that during the attorney review period associated with the offer, McGinley sought reasonable changes, which he claims that the seller never addressed. That, plus a major medical episode that McGinley suffered, caused him to walk away from buying Aloha Lodge, Ruskusky said.
A longtime business executive who died in 2022 at age 89, Harold B. Smith had been a top executive at Glenview-based Illinois Tool Works, which his great-grandfather, Byron L. Smith, founded.
In 1998, Smith purchased Aloha Lodge, located on the southern shore of Geneva Lake, and renovated it. The Southern colonial-style mansion was built around 1900 for Tracy Drake, who, with his brother John Drake, constructed the Drake and Blackstone hotels in Chicago.
Smith put in a new foundation, two new wings and a basement theater. After Smith’s death, his foundation, which was formed in 2018, took ownership of Aloha Lodge.
According to the complaint, which was filed on Dec. 5, the foundation listed the estate for $35 million in 2023. The foundation alleges that McGinley and his wife, Julie, executed a written offer to buy Aloha Lodge for $37.5 million in May 2023. The foundation accepted the McGinleys’ offer one day later.
After the offer had been accepted, the foundation alleges in the suit that McGinley sought to learn if there were other showings or competing offers. The foundation also alleges in the suit that McGinley asked the foundation to hold off on updating the real estate multiple listing service to reflect that an offer had been accepted, ostensibly to allow other offers to materialize.
Complicating matters further was the fact that in the midst of the attorney review process, McGinley suffered a pulmonary embolism requiring emergency care and hospitalization. Such a health event, the foundation was advised, could be the basis for canceling a contract to buy a property, according to the lawsuit.
After McGinley’s health event, the lawsuit alleges, McGinley proposed several changes to the terms of the contract, including delaying the closing date, having a 10-day right to walk away based on health concerns and adding a due-diligence provision permitting him to abandon the deal based on renovation plans.
In the end, McGinley never delivered any earnest money and walked away from the Lake Geneva deal, according to the suit. Ultimately, the foundation wound up selling Aloha Lodge in 2024 for $21.85 million to another buyer.
The foundation alleges in the lawsuit that McGinley’s “bad faith conduct” harmed Aloha Lodge’s reputation and caused the foundation to incur “substantial additional costs to sell the property at a price that was substantially lower than the agreed contract price.” As a result, the foundation is seeking monetary damages, “including additional marketing and care costs and the difference between the contract price and the price at which (the) seller sold the property in mitigation of its damages.”
A spokesperson for the foundation told the Tribune that by accepting a lower price for Aloha Lodge in Lake Geneva, that sale price “directly harmed” the foundation and, by extension, Chicago-area nonprofit organizations that the foundation supports, such as the Newberry Library and the Rush University System for Health.
Ruskusky denied the foundation’s allegations, telling the Tribune in his statement that “Jack is a highly reputable, longtime participant in numerous successful real estate transactions, and we flatly reject any allegations to the contrary. This was a standard real estate negotiation subject to attorney review and approval, and no final, binding contract was ever completed.”
Ruskusky said that McGinley “properly invoked the attorney review provision in a timely manner to request reasonable changes, which the seller failed to address, making the proposal null and void by its express terms.”
McGinley near-concurrently had a similar experience with the foundation, having struck a contract to buy a different estate owned by the foundation in Palm Beach, Florida, for $38 million, according to the suit. Shortly before the foundation accepted McGinley’s $38 million offer on Aloha Lodge in May 2023, he separately decided not to proceed with buying the Palm Beach property, which wound up selling in 2024 for $29.25 million to payday-lending mogul W. Allan Jones, according to news accounts.
Public records show that McGinley paid nearly $10.37 million in 2004 for his current home, a more than 16,000-square-foot mansion on almost 3.5 acres in Lake Forest. The couple also owns a century-old, 9,000-square-foot mansion on the Gold Coast — which they purchased for nearly $7.13 million in 2013 — that is the subject of ongoing litigation. According to a lawsuit pending in Cook County, a trust whose beneficiary is Julie McGinley accepted an offer from a Tampa, Florida, couple to buy the couple’s Gold Coast mansion for $7.5 million. After the sale did not proceed, the Tampa couple sued the McGinleys, seeking a court ruling to allow the deal to close. That case is pending.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/20/lake-geneva-aloha-lodge-lawsuit/
“Maduro Can Get The F**k Out”; Venezuela ‘Regime Change’ Debate Gets Fiery
“Maduro Can Get The F**k Out”; Venezuela ‘Regime Change’ Debate Gets Fiery
Potentially on the cusp of another regime change war, last night ZeroHedge collaborated with The Matt Gaetz show to host a pointed debate on how Trump should handle the evil and corrupt Maduro regime—a familiar Washington storyline now resurfacing amid renewed sanctions pressure, significant U.S. military maneuvers, and Beltway think tank consensus.
The debate featured Curt Mills, Executive Director of The American Conservative, and Venezuelan opposition figure Emmanuel Rincon, moderated by former Congressman Matt Gaetz.
We strongly recommend the full hour-long debate, but here the highlights for those short of time:
The Venezuelan Chalabi
Mills warned that Washington is once again falling for a familiar con, comparing the case for regime change in Venezuela to the pre-Iraq War fantasy sold by exiles promising instant democracy if only the U.S. removes the “bad man” at the top.
“I suppose I’m debating the Venezuelan Ahmed Chalabi,” Mills said, noting that diaspora groups routinely make sweeping claims about what “the people on the street” believe and what the country will supposedly look like “the day after,” all while assuming they and their allies would be handed power.
The truth, he argued, is simpler and more damning: “We don’t know. And this is not the U.S.’s business.”
Context: Ahmed Chalabi—a wealthy Iraqi exile—was a pivotal figure in selling the Iraq War to U.S. neoconservatives, largely by feeding them what they most wanted to believe: that toppling Saddam would quickly yield a secular, pro-Western Iraqi democracy that would also normalize ties with Israel. Chalabi’s circle also supplied “crucial intelligence” about Iraqi weaponry that “almost all… turned out to be false,” helping justify the invasion and underpin the “liberators” fantasy.
Mills also took aim at the security rationale behind intervention, arguing that regime change is a wildly inefficient response to crime or drugs.
“The U.S. does not need to stop all crime everywhere,” he said, adding that protecting Americans can be achieved far more effectively through border enforcement and cooperation with law enforcement than through a war.
The real danger, he cautioned, is strategic self-harm: Venezuela risks becoming “the American Ukraine,” a war of choice that bogs the U.S. down and consumes an entire presidency.
— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) December 20, 2025
Drug-Busting, Not Regime Change
The exchange turned on whether regime change could be sold as something short of war.
Emmanuel Rincon insisted that it could, arguing, “You’re not going to war against Venezuela. You are going to war against a drug cartel. It’s not the same.”
In Rincon’s telling, the scenario would not involve Venezuela’s military at all:
“You’re not going to have all the military of Venezuela going into a war with the United States. That is not going to happen.”
Mills dismissed that framing as semantic evasion.
“Like in World War II, they could argue that we weren’t going to war with Germany—we were going to war with the Nazi regime, with the SS,” he said. “But of course we’re going to war with Germany.”
Stripping away the euphemisms, Mills argued the same logic applies in Caracas:
“We would be going to war with Venezuela—the people that run Venezuela today.” adding:
“Maduro can get the fuck out…”
— ZeroHedge Debates (@zerohedgeDebate) December 20, 2025
Watch the full debate below because – while Tucker v Ben Shapiro drama may be stealing the show right now – how this Venezuela debate pans out within the Trump admin could put lives on the line… and very soon.
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 20, 2025
Tyler Durden
Sat, 12/20/2025 – 16:55
CFP: Late TD gives No. 10 Miami a 10-3 win over No. 7 Texas A&M, setting up quarterfinal vs. No. 2 Ohio State
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Malachi Toney’s tiebreaking 11-yard touchdown reception with less than two minutes left lifted No. 10 Miami to a 10-3 win over No. 7 Texas A&M on Saturday in the College Football Playoff.
Mark Fletcher Jr. had a career-high 172 yards rushing to help the Hurricanes (11-2) advance to the Cotton Bowl to face No. 2 seed Ohio State on Dec. 31.
Toney’s big play came a series after what looked a devastating mistake for the freshman. Toney made a reception, but Dalton Brooks knocked the ball out and Daymion Sanford recovered it on the Texas A&M 47 with about seven minutes to go. Teammates surrounded a visibly upset Toney on the bench, encouraging him and trying to keep him positive.
He and Miami’s offense got another chance when Rueben Bain Jr. sacked Marcel Reed on two of three plays on the ensuing drive to force a punt.
A career-long 56-yard run by Fletcher on the first play of the next drive got the Hurricanes to the Texas A&M 30 with about three minutes to go. Miami used four more Fletcher runs to get into scoring position before Toney took the short toss from Carson Beck and dashed into the end zone.
The Aggies had a chance to tie it after that, but Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted Reed for the second time — this time in the end zone — to end it.
The Hurricanes used a suffocating defensive performance to stifle Texas A&M’s powerful offense, which entered the game averaging 36.3 points per game. They harassed Reed into a mistake-filled performance that included a first-quarter fumble along with the interceptions. They sacked him seven times and flushed him out of the pocket and forced him to try to make tough throws again and again.
He was 25 of 39 for 257 yards but was unable to get the Aggies in the end zone for the first time this season.
After getting the last at-large bid in the playoff, the Hurricanes move on with a chance to win their first national championship since 2001 in their first appearance in the CFP.
Carter Davis missed three field goals in gusty win after missing only two before Saturday. His 21-yard kick early in the third quarter got the Canes on the board after the first scoreless first half in CFP history.
It was a disappointing playoff debut for Texas A&M (11-2), which lost to rival Texas in its regular-season finale after opening the season with 11 straight wins.
Beck, in his first season at Miami after a transfer from Georgia, was 14 of 20 for a season-low 103 yards.
Facing a second-and-18 from his 8, Reed made consecutive throws to Ashton Bethel-Roman for 15 and 13 yards. On third-and-10 later in the drive, he connected with Bethel-Roman again on a pass that was just enough for the first down and found Mario Craver for a 12-yard gain on the next play.
The drive stalled after that, but Randy Bond tied it with a 35-yard field goal with about eight minutes to go.
The Hurricanes opened the second half with a nine-play, 72-yard drive capped by a 21-yard field goal to make it 3-0. Keelan Marion had a 20-yard reception on that drive and Fletcher added a 24-yard run on third-and-4 to keep it alive.
Fitzgerald intercepted Reed and returned it 36 yards to the A&M 20. The Canes came up empty after the turnover when a 35-yard field-goal attempt by Davis bounced off the left upright.
Reed fumbled late in the first quarter, but the Hurricanes were unable to cash in on the miscue. A 59-yard reception by Mario Craver got the Aggies to the 11-yard line early in the second. But they couldn’t move the ball and attempted a 22-yard field goal, which Bain blocked. It was Miami’s first blocked field goal since the season opener against Bethune-Cookman in 2022.
Toney’s 55-yard punt return got the Hurricanes to the 25 with about six minutes left in the second quarter. He would have scored if not for a shoestring tackle by Marcus Ratcliffe. But Dalton Brooks sacked Beck on third down to force a 47-yard field-goal attempt by Davis, which sailed wide right.
Punter Tyler White’s throw on a fake punt sailed just out of reach of a diving Marcus Ratcliffe to give Miami the ball on the Texas A&M 46 with less than two minutes remaining in the first half. Davis tried a field goal from 40 as time expired in the half, but it was wide right again.
The takeaway
Miami: The Hurricanes proved they belonged in the CFP after some questioned if they should have gotten in ahead of Notre Dame.
Texas A&M: Now that they’ve finally made the CFP, the Aggies will have a long offseason to figure out what went wrong in their disappointing quick exit.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/20/college-football-playoff-miami-texas-am/
